Show: July 15, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, July 15 from 2-4 pm for Latin a la Lounge! WXDU's own Latin music expert, Santa Salsera, will cohost as we explore many styles of music from Latin America in the 1940s and 1950s. We'll hear Divaville Lounge favorites like Machito and Beny More, plus artists from the era who should be better known. Tune in for an afternoon of tasty Latin music, and be sure to check out Santa Salsera's Latin music program Azucar y Candela, every Wednesday night from 6-8 pm.

Show: June 17, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, June 17 from 2-4 pm as we pay tribute to Judy Garland! Judy was one of the most important pop singers and movie stars of the twentieth century. We'll hear songs from Judy's movies, songs from the very beginning of her career, duets with other stars like Bing Crosby, DIck Haymes and Gene Kelly, and songs from her appearances on stage and her television show. Tune in for two hours of Judy!

Show: June 3, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, June 3 from 2-4 pm as we celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth! Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952, and the Jubilee marks the occasion of her 60th year on the throne. We'll hear songs about the British people, songs about England, Scotland and Wales, songs about royalty, and songs about celebrating! Join us for an afternoon in honor of Her Majesty!

Show: May 27, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, May 27 for a special 4 hour Memorial Day program! From 2 to 6 pm we'll play songs in honor of servicemen and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force (then Army Air Corps), Marines, and Coast Guard. We'll also hear songs about life on the home front, and vintage WWII-era public service announcements. Tune in for an afternoon in memory of the troops.

Show: May 6, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, May 6 from 2-4 pm as we pay tribute to Duke Ellington! Talented musician, successful bandleader, and one of the most important composers in American history, Ellington's big band was at the forefront of jazz for decades. We'll hear some of Ellington's earliest recordings from the 1920s, songs from the 1930s and from the acclaimed Blanton-Webster era, examples of his collaboration with Billy Strayhorn, and selections from the orchestral compositions the reflected his later career. Tune in for two hours in celebration of the Duke!

Show: March 18, 2012

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, March 18 from 2-4 pm as we take a look at the restrictions on popular music in WWII-era Germany. The Nazis attempted to control all aspects of German life, banning both music and art they considered degenerate (Entartete Musik). An article recently published in the Atlantic online lists a series of limitations on popular music performed in Germany:

Pieces in foxtrot rhythm (so-called swing) are not to exceed 20% of the repertoires of light orchestras and dance bands;

in this so-called jazz type repertoire, preference is to be given to compositions in a major key and to lyrics expressing joy in life rather than Jewishly gloomy lyrics;

As to tempo, preference is also to be given to brisk compositions over slow ones so-called blues); however, the pace must not exceed a certain degree of allegro, commensurate with the Aryan sense of discipline and moderation. On no account will Negroid excesses in tempo (so-called hot jazz) or in solo performances (so-called breaks) be tolerated;

so-called jazz compositions may contain at most 10% syncopation; the remainder must consist of a natural legato movement devoid of the hysterical rhythmic reverses characteristic of the barbarian races and conductive to dark instincts alien to the German people (so-called riffs);

strictly prohibited is the use of instruments alien to the German spirit (so-called cowbells, flexatone, brushes, etc.) as well as all mutes which turn the noble sound of wind and brass instruments into a Jewish-Freemasonic yowl (so-called wa-wa, hat, etc.);

also prohibited are so-called drum breaks longer than half a bar in four-quarter beat (except in stylized military marches);

the double bass must be played solely with the bow in so-called jazz compositions;
plucking of the strings is prohibited, since it is damaging to the instrument and detrimental to Aryan musicality; if a so-called pizzicato effect is absolutely desirable for the character of the composition, strict care must be taken lest the string be allowed to patter on the sordine, which is henceforth forbidden;

musicians are likewise forbidden to make vocal improvisations (so-called scat);

all light orchestras and dance bands are advised to restrict the use of saxophones of all keys and to substitute for them the violin-cello, the viola or possibly a suitable folk instrument.

The Nazis were bizarrely specific in their restrictions, and the show will feature banned musical styles and techniques such as scat singing, jazz in a minor key, playing bass without a bow, mutes, brushes and cowbell (!). We'll also hear from musicians who fled Nazi occupation, those who continued to perform in Germany, and from the propaganda swing band Charlie and His Orchestra. And, we'll hear some of the favorite songs of the Swingjugend, a youth movement of German teenagers who listened to swing music in defiance of the law. Tune in for two hours of music the Nazis didn't want people to hear.

In 1942 Charles Ridley of the British Ministry of Information used footage from Triumph of the Will to create a satirical short film in which Hitler and Nazi soldiers appear to be marching to the song "The Lambeth Walk." During the program we'll hear a German version of the song by Hans Rehmstedt, titled "In Lambert's Nachtlokal." Thanks to WFMU, Ridley's film (one of the first political remix videos, 70 years before Youtube!) is available online:

Show: December 25, 2011

Step into Divaville Lounge on Sunday, December 25 from noon to 4 pm for our annual Christmas show! After you're finished opening presents, settle in for an afternoon of Divaville Lounge Christmas. We'll hear four hours of holiday music, including traditional favorites, comedy classics, and some obscure tracks that must be heard to be believed. Celebrate Christmas with Divaville Lounge, and remember to tune in 2 hours early as the program begins at noon!

Show: December 11, 2011

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, December 11th from 2-4 pm as we honor the Bill of Rights! The first ten amendments to the US Constitution were ratified 220 years ago, in December 1791. Whether Tea Partier or 99%, one thing all Americans can agree on is that we all love the Bill of Rights. We'll celebrate our rights with songs by Divaville Lounge favorites that illustrate the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Some are serious, some silly, and all fun. Tune in for two hours of Constitutional pride that educates and entertains!

Show: November 20, 2011

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, November 20 from 2-4 pm as we celebrate the year 1937! Swing was all the rage, with Benny Goodman as its pre-eminent performer. Bing was the king of popular music. Count Basie made his first solo recordings. Billie Holiday met Lester Young. Then-unknowns, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald began their singing careers, while young talent Judy Garland got her first big break. And on a sad note, both George Gershwin and Bessie Smith died that year. We'll hear these musical milestones and many more, as we spend two hours exploring the year 1937 in music.

Show: October 16, 2011

On Sunday, October 16 the Divaville Lounge goes to the fair! If it's October it must be time for the North Carolina State Fair, and we'll mark the occasion with songs about livestock, crafts, carnival rides, and of course, songs from the musical State Fair. Tune in from 2-4 pm for a celebration of the fair!

Show: October 2, 2011

Show: September 25, 2011

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, September 25 from 2-4 pm for our regularly scheduled program of great jazz and pop vocalists, big band, and lounge/exotica. The program will include birthday tributes to Julie London and Herb Jeffries, as well as selections from the new Doris Day release, My Heart.

Show: August 21, 2011

Step into the Divaville Lounge on Sunday, August 21 as we pay tribute to Count Basie! Born on this day in 1904, William "Count" Basie was a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer whose career spanned six decades. We'll hear his earliest recordings with the Bennie Moten Orchestra, his seminal Decca recordings in the late 1930s, live performances at Birdland, and his work with singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby and Sammy Davis Jr. Divaville Lounge will be "jumping at the woodside," so tune in for two hours of Basie!